ASRock X99 Taichi Motherboard Review

BIOS/UEFI

All users who feel lost in the BIOS/UEFI can use simplified EZ MODE. Most important settings are available on one screen which shouldn’t be hard to navigate even for less advanced users.

In this screen we can see short hardware specification, memory and storage configuration, fan status and temperatures.

In the tools window we can find System Browser which is a handy window with motherboard picture and all components which we installed like PCIe cards, CPU, memory or other devices.

In the Advanced mode we can find many more options. BIOS/UEFI style is similar to what we could see on other ASRock motherboards with the exception of new, Taichi background.

Main window is showing us memory configuration and occupied slots. There is also basic info about the BIOS version and used processor. Also on this page we can change date, hour and displayed language.

Next tab is OC Tweaker. Of you are overclocking then you probably spend a lot of time here. Not that all is so complicated but there are many options to play with.

Auto OC profiles may vary depends on used processor. As default Haswell-E is overclocking easier than Broadwell-E. At the same time you will see that suggested voltages of Haswell-E are lower than Broadwell-E. It’s normal and is caused by a bit different processor architecture. Profiles may also include a bit higher voltages than you processor need as they’re tested including possibility of getting worse overclocking chip.

On i7 6800K processor profiles end on 4.2GHz so not that high. At this point I have to mention that the highest results on good air or water cooling end on about 4.5GHz so 4.2GHz is still not that bad, especially if you want to run your PC for long hours.

Memory presets are available up to DDR4-4133 but I don’t think it’s possible to set on any X99 motherboard. Still we have wide range of settings to play with. Memory which we were using for this review couldn’t pass much higher frequency than DDR4-3333 what is probably not the motherboard’s fault as also on other motherboards maximum frequency wasn’t higher.

On the attached screenshots you can see how many settings can be adjusted. I won’t describe all as even more advanced overclockers won’t use most of them ( especially memory timings ). Even though X99 Taichi wasn’t designed to be top overclocking motherboard, it has almost all settings we can find in series like OC Formula. 

In Advanced tab we can find all devices settings what includes processor, storage and all additional controllers like USB, LAN, WLAN and many more. Click on the screenshots to see full list of options. Everything is well described in the manual and on the side bar in the UEFI what is quice nice feature.

BIOS can be updated from flash drive but also directly from the Internet. Both options are working good.

In the Hardware Monitor tab we can find all readings of voltages, temperatures and fan speed but also we can configure fan modes. There are couple of presets and manual settings. Everything works great.

In the Security tab we can set password or change secure boot settings. As default it’s disabled and personally I’m always disabling it too but maybe someone wishes to use it and then it’s easy to do it in this tab.

Boot tab is also pretty clear. We can change boot devices and other related settings. I don’t think I have to explain that.

Exit tab is even more obvious. We can save settings and exit UEFI or just exit without applying changes. We can also set UEFI default settings if we have any issues with manual settings. Sometimes it’s faster to just click this button than waste time on searching what we set wrong.